‘I was fired’, prominent US prosecutor in standoff with Trump

Preet Bharara, a high-profile US prosecutor, announced he had been fired by the Trump administration after refusing to step down, ending a brief but unusual standoff.

The attorney for the Southern District of New York took to Twitter saying “I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.”

I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 11, 2017

Bharara had been one of 46 holdover Obama appointees who were told by the acting deputy attorney general on Friday to tender their resignations. It is part of what is a normally routine changing of top attorneys when a new president takes office. However, Bharara said in November that Trump had asked him to stay in his post.

The Justice Department confirmed that Bharara was no longer serving in the position and declined further comment.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to replace so many sitting attorneys at once, has raised eyebrows in Washington. Not least because Trump has yet to put forward any candidates to fill the posts.